Thread: Broken razors and grain structure

So Gregg71's post on heat treating O1 was interesting! and it's been a while since broke a razor.
So I thought I would see what I had around to mess up
I'll be the first to say I don't know half the amount that some here do.... but I do know enough to be dangerous!
So what to brake..
I figured I would start with every ones favorite Chinese import.

Then a vintage AW Wadsworth

O1 that I junked

And lastly a Pakistan razor


What I found interesting.
1) how grainy the Chinese razor looks, I didn't expect it look great but not that grainy
2) surprised how smooth the Pakistan razor looks. That being said the geometry of that razor was all over the place. spine width from .20-.16
A question that may not be answered .. I wonder if the Chinese razor is a product of poor steel of poor HT.

I think I have at least 1 SS razor to bust up and see how it looks.
It's interesting to see what's inside...

Any opinions on the pics are welcome!

Thanks for sharing mate
With the GD have you considered running it through a HT and re breaking to see if the structure alters to confirm material or process flaws ?
Look forward to further info

I did play around with it a little bit.
Here it is after normalizing and HTing the same as I would 1095


Here is a piece I did as if it was O1



Plan on trying another piece a little differently to see what happens

Looks more than likely to be HT is the issue as those grains look very similar hey

I'm not sure.. my ht on the Chinese razor is little more then a guess. While one looks a slight bit better , it's still a big different when placed side by side
Here is the the re-HT razor beside the Pakistan razor

This is an awesome thread!

Anything involving the breaking of Chinese razors is a good thing!

Realistically though, an N of one is insufficient. An N of 1000, now that may have some stastical value.

I was a repair welder for over 40 years and with cast steel all of the cast steel I worked on looked grainy. Even some of the metal that wasn't cast looked grainy if it broke just right. What really matters is the metal mix. what went into the steel when it was made. there's a word for it but it escapes me at the present. Now I'm not defending the Chinese or Pakistan blades just telling what I've seen.

Originally Posted by Utopian

This is an awesome thread!

Anything involving the breaking of Chinese razors is a good thing!

Realistically though, an N of one is insufficient. An N of 1000, now that may have some stastical value.

Are you offering to supply the 1000 Chinese razors?

Originally Posted by Utopian

This is an awesome thread!

Anything involving the breaking of Chinese razors is a good thing!

Realistically though, an N of one is insufficient. An N of 1000, now that may have some stastical value.

I agree one doesn't mean much, that being said my intent wasn't for this to be scientific experiment. I make no claims of HRC, edge taking, holding ability. Just breaking, looking and taking a pic

Originally Posted by rhensley

I was a repair welder for over 40 years and with cast steel all of the cast steel I worked on looked grainy. Even some of the metal that wasn't cast looked grainy if it broke just right. What really matters is the metal mix. what went into the steel when it was made. there's a word for it but it escapes me at the present. Now I'm not defending the Chinese or Pakistan blades just telling what I've seen.

It's a interesting point but I'm not sure if any modern razor is cast.
The effects to grain structure on hardened cast steel is a question that would have to go higher then me

Here is a cpm154 SS razor I found in my box.
It would take but not hold a edge very long.
Upon breaking it I guess it needed a few more hardness points. You can see where the thin edge bent before it broke.